Want A Tempting E92 M3 Alternative? Make It The Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo

When we put it to a vote, the majority of you said you’d rather have a BMW M4 over the new Alpina B4. However, the BMW only just won the poll, with the Alpina machine netting a significant 46 per cent of the vote. With that in mind, we thought we’d dig a used Alpina out of the classifieds for you to ogle. And we’ve come up with this, the B3 Bi-Turbo coupe, also known as the the B4’s predecessor.

Under the bonnet of this E92 3-series-based car is a 3.0-litre straight six with - you guessed it - two turbochargers. It’s good for 360bhp, and while that’s a little down on power compared to the 414bhp E90 M3, the B3 is still very quick. 0-62mph takes just 4.8 seconds, and as there’s no 155mph electronic limiter, it’ll do 177mph. Worth considering if you have a trip to Germany or a Vmax event planned for the near future…

This Alpina could be worth a look. It’s up for £19,975, has a full service history and has done a reasonable 57,200 miles. Sure, a more powerful V8 M3 can be picked up for around the same money, but if you’re after something that’s more discreet about its performance and will potentially hold its value better in the long run, then the B3 could well be for you.